The Difference Between Depression And Feeling Depressed
Lets talking about how to tell the difference between feeling depressed and having major depression as an illness.
This is a very relevant topic in this current time,as we deal with this pandemic and all of the negativities that come with it. I don't think we've begun to see the mental impact that this is gonna have on us long term. Drug manufacturers are having a hard time keeping up with the demand for antidepressants because more people are being prescribed antidepressants to help with the situation. And that makes sense, look what we've got, disconnectedness, loss of life, economic ruin. Any of these things occurring by themselves can set you back emotionally, but all of them simultaneously can fill you with apathy, making you not wanna go on. Does this mean you have depression? Not necessarily.
Depression is an emotional state. Major depressive disorder is an illness. As humans, we're reactive. but not every negative reaction is an illness. There's another mental disorder called adjustment reaction with depressed mood. Some people call it situational depression. It's a milder form of the depressive illness that's triggered by a trauma or a stressor. This disorder is defined as having marked distress that's out of proportion to the severity or intensity of the stressor, and significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. Notice in the first part of the description,it says out of proportion to the severity and intensity of the stressor. There's some subjectivity hereto determine what's out of proportion. We are expected to have reactions to things, but what would be an expected reaction to receiving daily news of deaths, job loss, illness, protests, and being unable to connect with the people that you like and love? Under these circumstances. 
https://90swellness.blogspot.com/2023/12/minor-depression-differences-from-major-depress.html
Social functioning would include how you relate to people with your communication and your connectedness. Occupational functioning includes your school ability as well, and your ability to maintain a job, to support yourself, and get along with people in your work setting. And then, your personal functioning would be how well you're taking care of yourself. So, here's how you can think about how seriously your emotions are affecting you based on your level of functioning in these areas. And I'm grouping these into superior functioning, mild impairment, moderate to serious impairment, and profound impairment. This is based on the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale that we used to use as part of the diagnostic process. We still think of it in these terms, but we don't use the scale anymore, and I'll have a link to the scale in the description. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/gaf-scale-facts
This is a very relevant topic in this current time,as we deal with this pandemic and all of the negativities that come with it. I don't think we've begun to see the mental impact that this is gonna have on us long term. Drug manufacturers are having a hard time keeping up with the demand for antidepressants because more people are being prescribed antidepressants to help with the situation. And that makes sense, look what we've got, disconnectedness, loss of life, economic ruin. Any of these things occurring by themselves can set you back emotionally, but all of them simultaneously can fill you with apathy, making you not wanna go on. Does this mean you have depression? Not necessarily.
Depression is an emotional state. Major depressive disorder is an illness. As humans, we're reactive. but not every negative reaction is an illness. There's another mental disorder called adjustment reaction with depressed mood. Some people call it situational depression. It's a milder form of the depressive illness that's triggered by a trauma or a stressor. This disorder is defined as having marked distress that's out of proportion to the severity or intensity of the stressor, and significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. Notice in the first part of the description,it says out of proportion to the severity and intensity of the stressor. There's some subjectivity hereto determine what's out of proportion. We are expected to have reactions to things, but what would be an expected reaction to receiving daily news of deaths, job loss, illness, protests, and being unable to connect with the people that you like and love? Under these circumstances.
https://90swellness.blogspot.com/2023/12/minor-depression-differences-from-major-depress.html
What would proportional distress even look like?
I think the answer to that is in the second part of this criteria for an adjustment disorder, which is that you have distressing emotions that cause certain behaviors that lead to impairment. Degree of impairment is generally how we determine the severity of an illness and what kind of treatment you should pursue, if any. So, what do we mean by impairment? With impairment, we look at the degree of problems that it's causing in your day-to-day life in three main realms, social, occupational, and personal functioning.Social functioning would include how you relate to people with your communication and your connectedness. Occupational functioning includes your school ability as well, and your ability to maintain a job, to support yourself, and get along with people in your work setting. And then, your personal functioning would be how well you're taking care of yourself. So, here's how you can think about how seriously your emotions are affecting you based on your level of functioning in these areas. And I'm grouping these into superior functioning, mild impairment, moderate to serious impairment, and profound impairment. This is based on the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale that we used to use as part of the diagnostic process. We still think of it in these terms, but we don't use the scale anymore, and I'll have a link to the scale in the description. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/gaf-scale-facts
Why People Becomes Depressed
Superior functioning would be that life's problems never seem to get out of hand for you. And you're even sought out by others because of your many positive qualities. Mild dysfunction would be things like having mild anxiety related to a stressor, like an exam, or worrying about finances after losing your job. Or you could have symptoms that are expected reactions to a stressor, like being unable to concentrate after you've had an argument with someone.Depression types( Which Type Of Depression Do You Have)
Moderate dysfunction
would be having some trouble sleeping or trouble meeting your personal, work or school responsibilities because of thinking problems or having poor motivation. You may have occasional panic attacks or have some conflicts with coworkers or relationship problems.
So, those are just some examples, but for a bird's eye view of this, if you're struggling mentally, ask yourself, are you meeting your daily milestones? Are you maintaining a job and relationships? Are you keeping up with other responsibilities, like paying bills and taking care of people, or things that depend on you?
Some examples of serious dysfunction
- would be feeling suicidal.
- being unable to keep a job at all.
- having no meaningful relationships.
- having severe obsessional rituals.
Profound dysfunction affects the way you think
- like being delusional, neglecting personal hygiene.
- being frequently violent.
- being unable to work because you can't get out of bed.
- or you're making a suicide attempt.
So, those are just some examples, but for a bird's eye view of this, if you're struggling mentally, ask yourself, are you meeting your daily milestones? Are you maintaining a job and relationships? Are you keeping up with other responsibilities, like paying bills and taking care of people, or things that depend on you?